Album Reviews

Album Review: Jori Hulkkonen – Man From Earth (Turbo Records)

By | Published on Friday 20 November 2009

Jori Hulkkonen

You’ve probably heard the name, but can you name a single track penned by Jori Hulkkonen? The press release for this album was written with some panache by the man himself – this is his 10th LP in 15 years – in which he aptly states that “if you never become trendy then its impossible for you to become untrendy”.

So, trendy he might not be, but that just makes the gems to be found in his back catalogue are all the more special, this album included. Although it doesn’t start well, the arthouse electro musings of the opening track completely fail to set the tone, though the dancefloor beats of ‘Boying In The Smokeroom’ and rather cool punchy tech house of ‘Otherside Of Time’ swoop in to save the day. ‘Bend Over Beethoven’, also, is awesome – back in the day formulaic acid mayhem. I’d love to be on the dancefloor if he dropped that one during a set. It’s all rounded off with the title track, which leans heavily on New Order’s ‘Blue Monday’ but in a good way and a nod to Cybotron.

There are some lowlights, in particular the ridiculously long intro on ‘Musta Gunillas’ (I think it’s safe to say intro’s aren’t Hulkkonnen’s forte), but overall this album is very likable and has inspired by to delve further into his previous releases. PV

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